Exclusive YART insights: How Max Neukirchner experienced the Suzuka 8 Hours

On Sunday, the highlight of the week was finally on the programme – the Suzuka 8 Hours.

We started the race from fourth on the grid. We had the warm-up session that very morning from 8.30 am to 9.15 am. As the track was already wet, we took the opportunity to run in three sets of wet tyres. Given the weather forecast, this was an important part of our preparation, as we were able to use these sets of tyres later in the race.

Before the start, we had a small decision to make. Marvin had caught a cold over the past few days and was feeling a bit under the weather. That’s why we left it open until after the warm-up as to who would take the start. Afterwards, however, it quickly became clear that Marvin felt fit enough and was determined to start.

The race started on time on a wet track. Marvin got off to a really good start and put in a strong first stint. The first safety car was deployed quite early in the race after an incident had spilled oil onto the track. Unfortunately, this also led to several crashes. Due to the neutralisation, Marvin completed a total of 29 laps before Karel took over the bike.

The safety car was called out again during Karel’s stint. Once more, oil on the track was the cause, and once more there were several crashes. Overall, the race was characterised by numerous incidents and constantly changing conditions.

Changing conditions: High tension in the pits

For us at the pit wall, this meant constantly weighing up risk against safety. Time and again, conditions alternated between heavy rain and periods when, although it had stopped raining, the track still didn’t dry out properly due to the extremely high humidity. At times, it even looked as though the race might have to be suspended.

Shortly before Marvin headed out onto the track for his final stint at 6.19 pm, light rain began to fall again. By that point, the ideal line was already almost dry. However, using slicks would have been an enormous risk, as only a narrow strip was dry. We therefore made a conscious decision to play it safe and sent Marvin back out on wet tyres.

Towards the end of the race, we had to keep a close eye on fuel consumption. As the rain began to fall more heavily again, track conditions deteriorated progressively and there was a renewed spate of crashes. Consequently, the safety car was deployed once more. This played into our strategy, as it significantly reduced fuel consumption.

The safety car then remained on the track until the end of the eight hours. The number 30 Honda crossed the finish line in the lead behind the safety car once the race distance had been completed. Immediately afterwards, the race was officially ended with a red flag, meaning the remaining drivers did not have to complete any further laps.

A strong position heading into the season finale in September

With the World Championship in mind, this race was very important for us. We now head to the season finale, the 24 Hours of Le Castellet (Bol d’Or), with a 19-point lead over BMW (#37) and a 28-point lead over Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki (#12). This means we’ve put ourselves in a very good position for the final race of the season.

The week at Suzuka was extremely intense for all of us. Since the official tests on 30 June and 1 July, we’ve been at the circuit practically every day from early in the morning until late in the evening. That’s exactly why you come to Suzuka – to fine-tune every detail and find the best possible set-up for an 8-hour race.

In the midst of it all, we also had to cope with a real setback. Karel crashed through no fault of his own and we suffered a total write-off of the motorbike. In no time at all, the team had to build a completely new bike. The fact that the lads managed this so professionally and that we were still able to go into the race fully prepared deserves the utmost respect.

A huge thank you therefore goes to the entire team. Mechanics, engineers and all team members have done an incredible job this week. The days were long, the nights short, and the tension was palpable amongst every single one of us. Suzuka is simply a very special race – especially when the big factory teams like Honda and Yamaha are also on the grid. Everyone knows just how important this race is.

But special praise also goes to our three riders. As Crew Chief, I’m particularly proud of them. All three are performing at an almost identical level, bring a wealth of experience to the table and make the right decisions even under the most difficult conditions. That’s exactly what makes the difference in an eight-hour race.

Now we’re focusing all our attention on the season finale at the Bol d’Or. With a 19-point lead, we’ve put ourselves in a strong position. The key now is to work just as focused and united as a team in France as we did here in Suzuka. If we can do that, we’ll have a very good chance of achieving our main goal.

Final results of the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours:

1. Honda HRC (Rea, Takahashi, Chantra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, 188 laps

2. Yamaha Factory Racing (Nakasuga, Miller, Locatelli), Yamaha R1, +1:34.280 minutes

3. BMW Endurance (Reiterberger, Odendaal, van der Mark), BMW M1000RR, +1:44.087

4. YART (Hanika, Fritz, Mercado), Yamaha R1, +3:44.444

5. AutoRace Ube Racing (Uramoto, Guintoli, Ponsson), BMW M1000RR, +3:46.113

6. SERT (Black, Linfoot, Atsumi), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

7. Suzuki CN Challenge (Tsuda, Mizuno, Masson), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +2 laps

8. SDG Team HARC-PRO Honda (Kunii, Nagoe, Abe), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +3 laps

9. Honda Asia-Dream Racing (Atiratphuvapat, Pawi, Putra), Honda CBR1000RR-R, +4 laps

10. Team ATJ (Iwata, Suzuki, Kunimine), Suzuki GSX-R1000R, +4 laps